Okay, my girlfriend and I got an awesome deal on a 42" LCD HDTV the day after Thanksgiving and we're in the process of getting our digital cable upgraded to HD.
The tv has an HD tuner built into it. I went to our local Time Warner/Adelphia office to pick up the HD cable box (that I was told they had some available). The box that my girlfiend was told about over the phone was supposed to cost $8.95/mo. Our current box is $4.95/mo so that's not a big deal. Well, when we got there, we were told that they were out of the $8.95 box and that she could give us an HD/DVR combo box for $5/mo more, putting it at about $14/mo for just the box. We've had a DVR before and they're great, but we don't need one so I told the lady that we'll just wait until they have the other one in and we'll come back for it. Well, that's when she tells me that the $8.95 box doesn't have an HDMI hook up, it has the HD component hook up with the red, blue and green RCA connectors (instead of the red, white and yellow ones).
I know HDMI is the best connection to have as far as picture quality and everything, but is there enough of a difference between the two that we should pay the extra $5/mo for the HD/DVR combo box? I feel like if the difference is really noticeable enough, it would be dumb to not utilize the full abilities of the tv and that I should get the better box with the HDMI connection.
Or, since the tv has an HD tuner built in, do I even need a box of any kind? The thing that leads me to believe I do is that with the hook up right now, the image is far from HD quality, so I don't see how it could display an HD image without the box. But then what's the point of having an HD tuner buit in if it's whole purpose isn't to bypass the need for an HD cable box.
I just want to make sure I don't get something I don't actually need because of what the TV has built into it. But I also don't want to cut myself short and miss out on a decent amount of quality picture on the tv.
In case it helps, the tv we got is the Olevia 542i. We got it at MicroCenter for $999 and it came with a $200 mail in rebate so the final cost is $799. I've read the reviews and it's a pretty good tv, especially for the price. Most of the reviews have it listed at $1799-1999. Thank God we got up at 2am the day after Thanksgiving to get in line for it!
Oh, and here's the specs on the unit as well, in case it helps. Just look for the 542i in this chart:
http://www.visualapex.com/ProductSupport/542i.pdf
The tv has an HD tuner built into it. I went to our local Time Warner/Adelphia office to pick up the HD cable box (that I was told they had some available). The box that my girlfiend was told about over the phone was supposed to cost $8.95/mo. Our current box is $4.95/mo so that's not a big deal. Well, when we got there, we were told that they were out of the $8.95 box and that she could give us an HD/DVR combo box for $5/mo more, putting it at about $14/mo for just the box. We've had a DVR before and they're great, but we don't need one so I told the lady that we'll just wait until they have the other one in and we'll come back for it. Well, that's when she tells me that the $8.95 box doesn't have an HDMI hook up, it has the HD component hook up with the red, blue and green RCA connectors (instead of the red, white and yellow ones).
I know HDMI is the best connection to have as far as picture quality and everything, but is there enough of a difference between the two that we should pay the extra $5/mo for the HD/DVR combo box? I feel like if the difference is really noticeable enough, it would be dumb to not utilize the full abilities of the tv and that I should get the better box with the HDMI connection.
Or, since the tv has an HD tuner built in, do I even need a box of any kind? The thing that leads me to believe I do is that with the hook up right now, the image is far from HD quality, so I don't see how it could display an HD image without the box. But then what's the point of having an HD tuner buit in if it's whole purpose isn't to bypass the need for an HD cable box.
I just want to make sure I don't get something I don't actually need because of what the TV has built into it. But I also don't want to cut myself short and miss out on a decent amount of quality picture on the tv.
In case it helps, the tv we got is the Olevia 542i. We got it at MicroCenter for $999 and it came with a $200 mail in rebate so the final cost is $799. I've read the reviews and it's a pretty good tv, especially for the price. Most of the reviews have it listed at $1799-1999. Thank God we got up at 2am the day after Thanksgiving to get in line for it!
Oh, and here's the specs on the unit as well, in case it helps. Just look for the 542i in this chart:
http://www.visualapex.com/ProductSupport/542i.pdf